Seven hundred college students were included in the study and researchers found that the young adults who ate more fermented food had fewer social anxiety symptoms, as measured by neuroticism—aka psycho-ness. And more than that, the effect was even bigger for those who had a genetic risk for social anxiety disorder.

So, if you can’t catch my drift, college kids who frequently ate things like kimchi had less social anxiety. And the effect of fermented foods reducing anxiety was even bigger for those who were more prone to feeling anxious.

Photo courtesy of rougemagz.com

And to get a lil’ nerdy on ya, it was found that the probiotics, which are the good bacteria/microorganisms that help with digestion, favorably changed the environment in the gut and influenced social anxiety for the better. Basically, the good bugs in your gut have been shown to improve your mental health. #mindblown

So what does this mean for you? Well, you can hop on the trendy AND healthy bandwagon by eating a lot of kombucha, soy, and miso soup, as well as sauerkraut, Kefir, and pretty much anything that’s been pickled. Oh, and you can make your own pickles, too. Baller.